According to the WRCS Policies and Procedures Manual; Section 11.12 Advertised Procurement Procedures For Purchases in Excess of $50,000
A. General Statement of Process
There shall be two general types of advertised procurement procedures:
1. Advertised procurement by sealed bid requires that bids are publicly solicited and a firm fixed price contract providing for either a lump sum or unit price is awarded to the qualified vendor/bidder whose bid conforms to all the material terms and conditions of the invitation for bids and is the lowest in price. In order to utilize this process, the following conditions should exist:
a) A complete, adequate and realistic specification or description of the item or items to be procured is available.
b) Two or more responsible and qualified bidders are willing and able to compete effectively for the contract award.
c) The procurement lends itself to a firm fixed price contract and the selection of the successful bidder can be made principally on the basis of price.
2. Competitive proposal procurement is used when procurement by sealed bids is not appropriate because one or more of the above conditions do not exist which would, if present, justify the use of the sealed bid process.
B. Advertised Procurement by Sealed Bids
Advertised procurement by sealed bids shall conform to the following requirements:
1. The invitation for bids will be publicly advertised and bids shall also be solicited from an adequate number of known vendors.
2. A reasonable and sufficient time shall be provided between the time of advertisement and the time when all bids must be received by the School.
3. The invitation for bids, which will include all specifications and pertinent attachments, shall define the items or services in order for the bidder to properly respond.
4. All bids will be publicly opened at the time and place designated in the invitation for bids.
5. A firm fixed-price contract award will be made in writing to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. Where specified in the invitation, such factors as discounts, transportation costs, and maintenance costs may be considered in determining which bid is lowest.
6. Any or all bids may be rejected if the cause, therefore, is reasonable, in the best interest of the School, consistent with this Manual, and is fully documented. The procurement may thereafter be re-advertised for additional bids or, if consistent with law and this Manual, be procured by other means.
C. Procurement by Competitive Proposals
The process of procurement by competitive proposals requires that more than one source or vendor submit an offer of either a fixed-price or cost-reimbursable contract to the School for the goods or services to be procured. Such procurement shall be conducted as follows:
1. Requests for proposals shall be advertised in and about the Navajo Nation and in metropolitan areas where such goods or services may be available and shall identify all evaluation factors by which the proposals will be evaluated and their relative importance in addition to a full description of the goods or services to be procured.
2. Proposals shall also be solicited from an adequate number of qualified sources previously known for their business with the School.
3. As a part of the process, criteria will be promulgated which afford a means of objectively evaluating all qualified proposals submitted. The criteria will be retained as a part of the documentation of the procurement. Such criteria may include such elements as bondability, experience, and history of providing like goods or services, qualifications of management and staff to be involved in providing the goods or services, price and pricing procedures, procedures and mechanisms for resolving disputes and such other evaluation criteria as may be appropriate to the particular procurement.
4. Award of a procurement contract will be made by the Board on the basis of the ranking of the proposals submitted based on the criteria established, price, and the advantage to the program to be served by the procurement.
Section 11.13 Emergency Procurement by Non-Competitive Proposal
Procurement by non-competitive proposal shall be used only when the award of a contract is not feasible under small purchase procedures, competitive proposals or advertised procurement by sealed bids and one or more of the following circumstances exist:
A. The item is available only from a single source.
B. The exigency or emergency necessitating the procurement will not permit a delay resulting from competitive solicitation.
C. The funding source authorizes non-competitive procurement.
D. After solicitation of at least three sources, competition is determined to be inadequate.
In the event that one or more of the above circumstances are found to exist, then the School may solicit a proposal from one qualified vendor without competition.